In Senegal, the presidential election could be the most open in the country’s contemporary history

The next Senegalese presidential election will take place by the end of March, after several weeks of tension caused by the postponement of the vote.

The Senegalese now know that they will elect their president on March 24. They see a way out of the crisis caused by the postponement of the election. The weekend of March 31 was first considered but the Easter holiday was not very compatible with a first round of elections. After a month of uncertainty, which alarmed national opinion and part of the international community, the Senegalese are once again embarking on the presidential path, perhaps the most open in their contemporary history.

The election will therefore take place before April 2, the date of the expiration of the mandate of Macky Sall, the current president who is not running for re-election. The Constitutional Council makes it a matter of principle. This makes it possible to partly avoid a glitch in the institutions which would see Senegal presided over by a president who would no longer have constitutional power.

Another principle on which the Constitutional Council of Senegal has remained firm: the list of 19 candidates who had been validated for the election which was to be held in January remains unchanged. Which means that the main opponent Ousmane Sonko, leader of the anti-system opposition, cannot run. On the other hand, his second, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, although imprisoned, is confirmed in the presidential race. He appears eligible for release after the adoption by the Assembly of a law amnesting acts committed in connection with political demonstrations since 2021.

An amnesty law passed by the National Assembly

The majority’s stated objective is to ease tensions in the country. This law was approved by 94 votes for, 49 against. It provides amnesty for acts linked to political violence in recent years, that is to say since 2021. A law which allows the release of the thousand prisoners who were in the country’s jails – so-called political prisoners -, but which allows also has the power to shelter the perpetrators of crimes and serious acts, including homicides.

According to NGOs, we are still talking about 40 to 60 deaths over the past three years, killed in particular by the police. The law allows investigations to be erased, to the great dismay of victims’ families who see any idea of ​​justice disappearing.

A change of Prime Minister

As soon as the law was passed, President Macky Sall changed Prime Minister. On Wednesday March 6, he dissolved the government and appointed the Minister of the Interior, Sidiki Kaba, as the new head of government. This frees up his former Prime Minister, Amadou Ba, who can campaign more easily and who must above all catch up. The man has difficulty convincing and many Senegalese people consider him the loser of the election.